The evil sorceress Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten) won't just have connections to Regina (Lana Parrilla) in the upcoming second half of season 4 of Once Upon a Time.

'Once Upon a Time's Maleficent, Cruella & Ursula Have Surprising 'Connection' With Two Characters

Maleficent was already featured previously in Once Upon a Time but there is renewed interest in the character after the Angelina Jolie movie Maleficent proved to be a box office smash last summer. Despite Once Upon a Time co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz loving the movie, the former said that they weren't going to change anything about their incarnation in order to align with the movie.

"She was inspired by the original Sleeping Beauty movie, and we love the Maleficent movie that came out, but what we've been doing is building on the character we introduced in season one," Kitsis explained to Entertainment Tonight recently.

'Once Upon a Time's Regina & Robin Hood Still Have Hope Left, 'We Haven't Seen The End Of It'

As is often the case with Once Upon a Time, Maleficent has a previous connection to some of the main characters. In addition to flashing back to how Maleficent and the Regina/the Evil Queen met, fans will see that she has past relationships with other significant characters.

"Our viewpoint is really in our own mythology that we've already set up with Aurora, with Regina, with Rumpelstiltskin, and with Snow and Charming," Horowitz told the publication. "We'll continue to do [our] twist on the iconic character in the confines of our Once Upon a Time world."

Once Upon a Time returns for the second half of season 4 on Sunday, March 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Tags: Once Upon A Time television ABC